That afternoon, they finally reached the foot of the mountain.

They grabbed a quick bite-some sandwiches and coffee from a roadside diner- before hopping into a private car headed straight for the airport.

On the way, Tarquin nced over and asked, "Those eight guys still behaving themselves?"

He was talking about the eight surviving poachers. Out of a group of over a hundred, they were the only ones who''d made it back down alive.

The wilderness out there was no joke—dangerous and unforgiving.

The driver, who was one of their own, replied, "Their heads are all messed up. Looks like the woods scared them senseless. One''s rambling about seeing ghosts, another swears he saw Bigfoot..."

But no one mentioned the cabin. No one breathed a word about someone living deep in those woods.

Honestly, just making it out alive was miracle enough-their minds were shot to pieces. Remembering a random cabin? Not a chance.

Tarquin pressed on, "What about their partners on the outside? All caught?"

He knew where there were hunters, there''d be buyers. Those poachers definitely had a wholework behind them.

The driver nodded. "Yeah, all of them. They''re a big operation-really slick, like a well-oiled machine. Everything they hunted up there-hides, antlers, you name it got shipped overseas. There''s another team waiting on the other end, moving the goods straight into ck market sales. Even a bunch of officials were mixed up in it."

Tarquin frowned. "And the officials? They get them too?"

"Everyone we could identify is locked up."

"Keep someone watching. I don''t want a single one slipping through the cracks."

The driver gave a firm nod. "And about developing this area the higher-ups gave the green light. Should be able to break ground in a week, if nothinges up."

Tarquin nodded. "Make sure everything stays discreet."

"Understood."

Elysia, who''d been quiet, finally spoke up, curiosity in her eyes. "You''re developing the ce?"

Tarquin exined, "We''re going to build up the area around the mountain basically secure the entry points. If anyone shady tries to get up there again, we''ll know about it right away and can stop them at the door." .

Technically, thend at the base wasn''t really developed yet, but public ess

was allowed for hikers and campers.

Tarquin was funding the renovations mainly to upgrade the entry to the wild forest. Right now, there were just a couple of battered

signposts-practically uselessl

Anyone with a sense of adventure could just wander right in.

He nned to put in a state-of-the-art electric fence, set up surveince, and station a few trusted people to keep watch. That would seriously cut down the chances of trespassers.

Fewer people wandering in meant less risk of their secrets being discovered.

Sure, almost no one ever made it as far as the hidden cabin, but you could never be too careful.

He wasn''t putting his own name on

the project no need to attract

attention. If he suddenly started pouring money into a patch of forest that had no obvious benefit, people would start asking ufortable questions.

Elysia caught on. She gave him a grateful look. With the driver there, she didn''t mention her grandparents, just reached over and quietlyced her fingers through his, squeezing his hand tight.

...